Bramblepoint You're next, sir, becomes a cruel taunt to you

The steady, thick heat followed him day by day as he made his journey North, skirting around the mountains he'd once called home but had now learned to fear. And while he could scent the trails left behind by those in the Spine, he avoided them too. He wasn't sure any of the former Fireflies who'd taken up residence there would be too pleased to see him.

He made it as far as Bramblepoint before the heat of the afternoon exhausted him. Panting, the agonizingly thin male sought what little shade he could find, squeezing himself beneath the branches of a high bush blueberry shrub, and curled up beneath its stubby branches. With some relief, he noticed a few berries hanging there, and sniffed them curiously. Still a bit too small to be tasty, but it was food nonetheless so he stripped them from the branch, grimaced at their sour taste, and gulped as he swallowed them down. Things would probably get more sour yet; this was just the beginning of it.